Civil-rights leader drops bid for seat in U.S. Senate

The Rev. Warren Stewart Sr. has decided not to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

Stewart is the prominent Arizona civil-rights leader credited as the driving force behind the state's paid holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He had been formally exploring a Senate run, but abandoned the idea after polling suggested his passionate anti-abortion views did not play well with fellow Democratic voters.

"The polling on that issue is very strong amongst the majority of the voters of the Democrats, and it would just be hard to overcome," said Stewart, the longtime pastor of First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix.

Stewart notified supporters of the news in a letter dated Monday, which was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He also gave a courtesy call to former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona and former Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens, two candidates he would have faced in the Democratic Senate primary race.

"I told them both I would not be running and wished them well," Stewart said. "I said I was praying for them. But I am not endorsing one, nor do I have any plans (to) at this point. I'm going to endorse justice."

In other developments:

Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, a Democrat, was waiting to hear Stewart's decision about running before getting behind Carmona, who made a campaign appearance Tuesday at Wilcox's El Portal restaurant in Phoenix. "I really like Carmona," she said. "He really understands the issues."

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio took his time before deciding to endorse Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican presidential race. The struggling Perry dropped out Thursday, leaving Arpaio, his Arizona campaign chairman, without a candidate again. The sheriff said he might consider endorsing another contender before Arizona's Feb. 28 GOP presidential-preference election. "No one's called me," Arpaio said. "They know my number."

Arpaio also is rethinking his endorsement of U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. Arpaio endorsed Gosar in the 2010 election and participated in a Gosar fundraising e-mail in December. But that was before Gosar decided to switch congressional districts and run in a primary against Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and state Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City. "You know what? I really haven't made a decision yet," Arpaio said when asked if his endorsement of Gosar still stood.